Bolivia

In 2015 MSF worked with the Bolivian Ministry of Health on applying an integrated strategy for the treatment of Chagas.

Teams have also been working to facilitate access to treatment for patients with secondary complications of the disease by training medical staff in early detection.

Chuquisaca is one of the departments with the highest prevalence of Chagas in the country, currently 70 per cent. In 2015, MSF initiated the second phase of a rural project in Monteagudo municipality, which involves recruiting and training health staff who work in the 17 health facilities in the area. The project offers free diagnosis and treatment, and so far 3,286 people have been screened (1,186 were confirmed as having Chagas and 224 started treatment).

MSF has been working with the national programme to strengthen community surveillance by training local volunteers and has also assisted in the spraying of houses. The vinchuca bug (Triatoma infestans) that transmits Chagas lives in the cracks in the walls and roofs of rural adobe houses.

This year MSF tested EMOCHA, an e-mobile surveillance application. Upon detection of a vinchuca infestation, a community volunteer sends a free SMS to a central information system, and a vector control team is deployed. EMOCHA will be implemented at the beginning of 2016 in Aiquile, Omereque and Pasorapa, in Narciso Campero province.